Walled City Music festival Call for Composers
Call for Composers
Walled City Music Festival, 12 - 15 March 2026
Composers Workshops
Friday 13th and Saturday 14th March
Foyle Arts Building, Ulster University Magee, Derry
The Walled City Music Festival invites expressions of interest to take part in composer workshops as part of the 2026 Walled City Music Festival programme, led by the 2026 WCMF Composer-in-Residence, Gráinne Mulvey..
Up to 5 places are available to participate and composers are asked to submit compositions for flute, viola and harp trio. Compositions should be either i) a pre-existing work which has yet to receive a public performance, or ii) a new composition, which should be no longer than 5 minutes in length.
On Friday 13th March, there will also be a group workshop session and one-to-one lessons with Gráinne Mulvey.
On Saturday 14th March, compositions will be workshopped with the ensemble-in-residence, featuring Sabrina Hu (flute), Ed Creedon (viola) and Clíona Doris (harp), followed by a performance of each piece.
For more information on the performers, please visit their websites at:
Sabrina Hu: https://sabrinahu.com/
Cliona Doris: https://www.clionadoris.com/
Ed Creedon: https://boynemusicfestival.com/ed-creedon
Expressions of interest should be submitted no later than Monday 9th February. Composers should include a short CV along with a brief paragraph (maximum 150 words) on why they would like to participate in this workshop. Please send information to fiona@walledcitymusic.com.
Composers will then be asked to submit their composition by Friday 27th February. Compositions can be written for one, two or all three instruments outlined above.
Accommodation in Derry for Friday night will be provided for each composer.
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Sabrina, Ed and Clíona will be performing on Friday 13th March at the Great Hall, Ulster University Magee, Derry. All participating workshop composers will receive a free ticket to this event.
Grainne Mulvey: Composer in Residence
Gráinne Mulvey is a composer of acoustic and electronic music. She is Professor and Head of Composition at TU Dublin and is a member of Aosdána, Ireland’s affiliation of artists.
Her music is inspired by the natural world, harmonic series, cosmology and science–––particularly the work of the eminent 19th century Irish scientist, John Tyndall, famous for establishing why the sky is blue.
She has written for many soloists, ensembles and orchestras and regularly collaborates with performers, visual artists, writers, poets and improvisors. She loves anything to do with sound and working with young composers.
She has been course director for the Irish Summer School of Composition from to 2016 to 2018 and has supervised composition projects for young composers at the Hilltown Music Festival, the Association of Irish Composers’ projects and as composer in residence to the Crash Ensemble’s outreach project in 2018.
Her music has been performed, recorded, published and broadcast by RTÉ Lyric FM, BBC Radio 3, major radio stations across the globe and released on CD labels: Métier, Divine Art Recordings, PARMA, AUDIOR, and RMN. She has won awards and has represented Ireland at the ISCM World Music Days in 2008, 2009 and the International Rostrum of Composers in 1994, 2006 and 2015.
Her recent CD The Tyndall Effect is out now on the Métier label, Divine Art Recordings mex 77129 and was favourably reviewed in Gramophone Magazine, UK. A film video titled The Tyndall Effect, just completed, centred on Tyndall’s work set to visuals with her music and scientific narration, is due for public release in 2026.
Projects for the Music Current Festival in 2026, and with other soloists and ensembles such as Airborne Extended Ensemble in Vienna and the Sepia Ensemble in Poland, are due to take place during 2026/27.